Follow the Flare
by SkullsandDuggery
Summary: "Always take good care of Rexy, and keep a flare handy. When things go bad with the animals, all you'll have to do is show her where the problem is, and Rexy will take care of it." A one-shot between Claire Dearing and our most beloved Rexy. Constructive criticism is welcome and appreciated.


"Follow the Flare"

Claire let out a shaky gasp as she fumbled with the radio in her sweaty hands. She flinched when the furious roar of the Indominus rex rattled her teeth. She cursed every scientist, every fail safe, and every money hungry bastard who had approved the creation of that monster; herself including.

Claire couldn't believe she was stupid enough to think they could control this animal. She should have had the damned thing put down when it ate its own sister. Hybrid dinosaurs, what an idiotic idea; they barely understood the ones that were mirrors of their ancestors, who had once roamed the world.

Unfortunately, that hadn't been her job. She was just there to hold the reigns, and be the manager of Jurassic World after John Hammond had handed them to her. She still believed the old man was an airhead, but she would still hear his words once in a while, his small words of wisdom.

' _You'll love her, Claire; she's a spitfire she is.'_

Claire would always remember the first time she had come here as Hammond's apprentice; only ten years old, but the old man seemed to have faith in her enthusiasm. He liked her genuinely, and had always been a gentleman to her. The elderly man had never been interested in finances, or even the science behind all this work.

He only wanted to share the wonders of dinosaurs with the world. Sometimes Claire was sure Hammond would have created the park even if he wouldn't have made a dime at it.

He had been eager to bring new blood to his park, and had taken Claire on a personal tour when it had finally been secured and animals quarantined; four years after the Jurassic Park incident. This was the first dinosaur they had seen together. She swore she could still see that charming smile; perfect, white teeth flashing in an excited grin as the man proudly showed her his best girl.

Claire's shaky, pale fingers slipped on the button of the radio when she heard one of Owen's raptors give a bloodcurdling shriek before going silent. She swore she heard a sister raptor snarl furiously at losing another family member.

Claire never knew how loyal such violent creatures could be, even in the face of certain death they stood by their caretaker. She knew it wasn't her fault, but Claire blamed herself for dragging those intelligent creatures into this fight; this wasn't their battle.

Claire only hoped stubborn, feisty Blue had given that monster a fierce tongue lashing before being attacked for her defiance. She hoped the raptor has used vulgar curse words, and clever insults.

Blue looked like a creature of colorful vocabulary.

The red light on the radio glowed in the darkness; this section of the park had been built intentionally for more darkness for the sake of this inhabitant.

' _Every creature here is something special, Claire, but this girl…she deserves to have absolutely no expense spared. She'll outlive me, Claire, and I have finagled with the best lawyers of the world to make sure she lives happily and comfortably. This girl will always be shown the respect she has earned and deserves.'_

"Lowery! Lowery, are you still there?!" Claire was almost hoarsely screaming into the radio. She felt her heart drop, and the sweat gather in her forehead as there was a second of a pause before the radio crackled into life.

"Claire? Yah, I'm right here. What can I do?"

The redhead almost let out a sigh of relief, and she silently promised to kiss the tech-geek on the cheek the next time she saw him. Her eyes wandered up the imposingly tall, solid, metal doors; she didn't even know what they were made of, but she knew it would take a lot to even dent them.

Spared no expense for the sake of this girl.

"Paddock Nine, Lowery! I need you to open Paddock Nine, now!"

Claire was sure the inhabitant was not happy with all the yelling and chaos going on. Despite her lack of attention to anything not on paper, she had kept her promise to Hammond about making sure this girl was taken care of.

She even knew this girl liked to be in bed by nine o'clock sharp; lights out and sound speakers shut off because she gave her keepers fiery hell when otherwise happened. It had to be long past eleven, and nothing but explosions, screams, bloody murder and noise had shaken this island for hours.

' _You take care of these animals, and they will take care of you, Claire.'_

The radio crackled before Lowery stuttered, "W-What? _Paddock Nine?!_ Are you _insane?!"_

Claire winced when she realized she couldn't hear any more raptors giving bone chilling, battle cries. She didn't want to think all four of Owen's raptors had just died for their sake. She was uncomfortable with realizing how alive and intelligent these animals were. She wanted to continue to think they were just numbers on nice, clean, white sheets of paper.

But she saw the fear in that graceful Apatosaurus' warm, liquidity eyes. That animal knew she was going to die.

She had been terrified of dying.

Owen's raptors knew they probably wouldn't be able to take on the Indominus rex and live, but they weren't going to abandon the man who had proven himself their caretaker, trainer, and alpha. They chose to stay; they chose to listen to Owen.

They fought fearlessly; Claire never witnessed such courage before.

The redhead couldn't let them all die in vain because of her company's greedy mistakes. She couldn't let her nephews die because she had allowed the Indominus to live.

She couldn't do this without help from her dinosaur. The only one she actually took the time to visit off hours. The only one who wasn't a number on paper to Claire.

Claire glared into the camera angled at her before she snarled, "For once in your life be a man and do something!"

She turned her gaze back to the doors, and heard the tech-geek mutter an offended retort. She squared her shoulders as she tossed the radio to the side where it clattered noisily. Claire swallowed when she heard her nephews give panicked yells before being drowned out by that demonic roar. She felt a shiver go up her spine as the door slowly slid up to reveal the midnight jungle inside.

 _Hammond grinned at her widely, almost playfully, as they stood on the impossibly high platform. The paddock lacked heavy vegetation that it would one day have, and there was no false, giant log for future guests to hide in as they would gape in wonder at her._

 _The paddock was simple, electric fencing, but that was being taken care of._

 _A much younger Claire blinked at the elder questioningly as he pointed to a scrawny looking goat, obliviously munching on the lush, tropical floor. She raised an eyebrow at the silver chain around the white, furry neck; the goat was tied up, but it didn't seem to care at the moment._

" _She likes goats, Claire, so don't ever forget that. Don't ever insult her with already butchered food; you must give her something to kill, it's what she was made to do, and the guests will love it."_

 _Claire only nodded, but she couldn't see any dinosaur yet; Hammond wouldn't even tell her what species was in here. Her eyes wandered over the thick trees, but she couldn't see or hear anything._

 _Hammond only chuckled at her before a hiss startled her. She had thought it was a dinosaur, but the old man was holding a road flare in his hand. She raised an eyebrow at the red light, and Hammond answered, "Dr. Grant had mentioned leading her away by using these flares. I know these are wild animals, but we can always try to give some training; they're smart, and they'll learn. She knows to follow the flare."_

And she always had. For the next fifteen years, or so, they had always lit a flare whenever it was time to lure this girl from the thick, camouflaging forest. It excited the guests to see the red light tossed down next to the goat before she made her appearance. It had even provided an alternate way of moving her around in the paddock without the use of sedatives. The caretakers just threw a flare where they needed her to be.

 _Hammond tossed the hissing flare down where it landed near the goat. The creature briefly stared at it before going back to its feast of lush vegetation. Claire waited eagerly for something to happen, and Hammond said, "She takes her time, it might be a few minutes, but she's earned that right."_

" _Why?"_

 _Hammond gave a fond, gentle smile when he saw some palm trees shuddering as they were pushed aside. Claire felt her eyes widen, and only half heard the answer._

" _Because this girl saved this company by eating a bloodsucking lawyer. She saved my grandchildren from loose raptors that should have been put down. She's going to save this company again, Claire. People will always crowd to see her, so keep a nice spot for her to hide when she's tired of them. One day, people will grow bored seeing dinosaurs, but they'll never tired of seeing her; she will always bring in a crowd. She'll help keep Jurassic World afloat no matter what, no matter what kind of dinosaurs we discover. You take care of my best girl, and she'll always be there for us when we need her the most."_

Claire remembered how terrified she was of seeing that creature for the first time. She still scared Claire, but there was something comforting about visiting her when things were quiet in the park. She was a comfort on the island, the big boss who would fix everything if chaos happened. Claire learned to like her.

She gave the cap of her flare a sharp twist before the blinding, red light loudly hissed. Claire could feel a terrified, joyous giggle tearing from her throat when the golden eyes illuminated in the dark as the massive carnivore gracefully parted from the quiet trees. She had a massive space to call her own, her nest was on the other side of this paddock, at least a couple miles away, but she somehow knew she would be needed right here.

Claire could feel the ground tremble with every firm step, and she wasn't sure if she was terrified or overjoyed at coming face to face with one of nature's most breathtaking creations. Sharp, ivory teeth gleamed with the flare's light as the almost comical, unintentional grin on the carnivore's face was revealed. She was the oldest animal here, around forty years old; she had been full grown at twenty years when Jurassic Park had been inspected so long ago.

" _Isn't she glorious, Claire? The ruler of the Jurassic; even the most unenthused will marvel at seeing her in the flesh."_

 _Claire was too busy gaping at the massive, muscular animal snapping its jaws around the goat whole. The chain didn't even try to hold the goat down when the carnivore snapped her jaws up, and the sound of bones crunching filled the air. The redhead shivered when the gleaming, gold eyes focused on them. Claire didn't like the dangerous fire focusing on her; she wasn't sure if she like this dinosaur, but Hammond only chuckled as he said, "It's alright, Claire. You give her the respect she deserves, and everything will be fine with her. Keep her fed, and comfortable; she'll behave."_

 _Claire nodded as she silently promised God above that this creature would be the last to feel the consequences of financial trouble if she ever inherited the company. The herbivores could starve for all she cared because this one would not tolerate any mishandling._

Claire heard her heel give a small click when she took a step back. She still gaped at the Tyrannosaurus rex, even twenty years later, Claire still felt the terror demanded of her presence.

The T-Rex took another step forward as her golden eyes focused on the flare. That dangerous fire had mellowed to a warm gold when she realized life in captivity meant safe naps, plenty of food, and an extended life. White scars from long ago battles raked down the side of a thick neck, and lethal, powerful muscles rolled on the massive, solid skeleton.

' _We call her Rexy, Claire; it's not very clever, but it's easy to remember. She knows her name.'_

Claire paused as she gave Rexy a final look over. She had no idea if this proud creature could bring their created monster to its knees. Rexy was a fierce, experienced fighter, but she was old; much older than what paleontologists predicted her kind to last. Rexy was twice the age of the oldest, fossilized Tyrannosaurus; that one had died at around twenty years old.

The Indominus was in its prime. It had everything Rexy did, and more. Rexy was at the disadvantage with age and ability. Would experience even help Rexy?

A stern snort blew from the large nostrils, and a warm, white fog rose from them. Claire was pulled from her thoughts when she realized the carnivore was waiting to follow the flare; Rexy knew Claire wasn't to be eaten, but she wasn't going to wait around for the redhead to get her butt moving.

' _She'll take care of this park, Claire; it's her job to be at the top of the pecking order. She keeps the others in line, that's why I keep a sound recording of her roar; we can heard even the nastiest of carnivores with one of her good roars. Just remember, Claire…'_

Claire held the flare up as she gazed into the golden eyes of her dinosaur. She swore she saw that dangerous fire sparking into life again, and the massive chest vibrated with a low growl. She turned on her heel before bolting back towards the center of their plaza. She could feel the earth shaking underneath her with each, large step Rexy took, and Claire ran faster when the old dinosaur let loose a deafening roar. Claire didn't risk glancing behind her, but she felt her stomach drop when she saw the white scales of the Indominus half buried in a building as it tried to snap at Owen and her nephews.

' _Always take good care of Rexy, and keep a flare handy. When things go bad with the animals, all you'll have to do is show her where the problem is, and Rexy will take care of it.'_

Claire dug her heels into the ground before pulling her arm back. She threw the flare as hard as she could, and was satisfied to see it bounce off the Indominus' neck. The white creature pulled back, and Rexy stepped over Claire as she gave a furious, bellowing roar at the Indominus. Rexy didn't hesitate to start the fight, and Claire felt hopeful as she watched the old Tyrannosaurus sink her sharp teeth into the thick neck. The Indominus gave a pained shriek, but the Tyrannosaurus only tore into the crimson stained, white scales with more vigor.

" _The only thing you will have to do..."_

"Is let her follow the flare…"


End file.
